New life for cheetah relocation to India
Shot down by the Namibian government but, supported by the Cheetah Conservation Fund, the trans-location of cheetah to India has seen new movement.
The ambitious project by India to relocate cheetahs from Namibia is in the spotlight again with a request to revive the plan which was originally conceived in 2009.
This follows after the Supreme Court in India recently decided to reconsider its 2013 order that had quashed the reintroduction plans of African cheetah into India’s Kuno Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
The court at that time noted that no detailed study had been conducted before introducing a 'foreign' species to India as one of the reasons why the project should be halted.
The Supreme Court also ordered that cheetah should not be trans-located in Kuno-Palpur where lions from Gujarat's Gir sanctuary were proposed to be shifted.
Following this, Nauradehi was suggested to be made the home of the spotted feline in India.
In a recent twist earlier this year the court has now decided to reconsider its order after hearing a plea that the cheetah is not a foreign species to India as it became locally extinct from India’s forests in 1952.
As per the earlier action plan, around 20 cheetahs were to be trans-located to the Nauradehi from Namibia.
The Namibia Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) had then showed its willingness to donate the felines to India.
While an amount of N$641 million was reportedly cleared for the project by the Indian environment ministry to move the cheetahs, reports surfaced in 2012 that the project had hit a roadblock due to lack of funds.
Indian media however this week reported that the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department had written to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to revive the plan to reintroduce cheetahs in the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary.
The NTCA will have to provide the necessary funding.
It was previously indicated that the department had sought N$490 million to import cheetah from Namibia to the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in December 2013 already.
The department needed to reserve a 700 square-kilometre area for the imported cheetahs to dwell in the sanctuary that is spread over 1 197 square kilometres.
However, 20 villages located in the reserved area for the cheetah project in Nauradehi needed to be evacuated and for this, a whopping N$490 million would be needed to compensate around 2 640 families living in these villages.
The return of the cheetah would make India the only country to host six of the world’s eight large cats, including lions, tigers, jaguars and panthers.
Namibia’s environment ministry previously told Namibian Sun that it received a request a few years ago from the Indian government to relocate African cheetahs to India, but that it was rejected by Namibia.
The ministry at that time said Namibia is not considering relocating cheetahs to India, nor have there been any further discussions between the two governments about this issue.
Meanwhile, Dr Laurie Marker, executive director of the CCF, in a recent blog post said that reintroducing cheetahs in India will help relieve pressure on the species by creating additional habitat, which the cheetah desperately needs to survive. It will also help increase the species genetic diversity.
“Yes, the cheetah reintroduction project will be a massive undertaking, very complex, and it will require great financial resources. But it is one very much worth the attempt, because the payoff is so enormous.”
ELLANIE SMIT
This follows after the Supreme Court in India recently decided to reconsider its 2013 order that had quashed the reintroduction plans of African cheetah into India’s Kuno Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
The court at that time noted that no detailed study had been conducted before introducing a 'foreign' species to India as one of the reasons why the project should be halted.
The Supreme Court also ordered that cheetah should not be trans-located in Kuno-Palpur where lions from Gujarat's Gir sanctuary were proposed to be shifted.
Following this, Nauradehi was suggested to be made the home of the spotted feline in India.
In a recent twist earlier this year the court has now decided to reconsider its order after hearing a plea that the cheetah is not a foreign species to India as it became locally extinct from India’s forests in 1952.
As per the earlier action plan, around 20 cheetahs were to be trans-located to the Nauradehi from Namibia.
The Namibia Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) had then showed its willingness to donate the felines to India.
While an amount of N$641 million was reportedly cleared for the project by the Indian environment ministry to move the cheetahs, reports surfaced in 2012 that the project had hit a roadblock due to lack of funds.
Indian media however this week reported that the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department had written to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to revive the plan to reintroduce cheetahs in the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary.
The NTCA will have to provide the necessary funding.
It was previously indicated that the department had sought N$490 million to import cheetah from Namibia to the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in December 2013 already.
The department needed to reserve a 700 square-kilometre area for the imported cheetahs to dwell in the sanctuary that is spread over 1 197 square kilometres.
However, 20 villages located in the reserved area for the cheetah project in Nauradehi needed to be evacuated and for this, a whopping N$490 million would be needed to compensate around 2 640 families living in these villages.
The return of the cheetah would make India the only country to host six of the world’s eight large cats, including lions, tigers, jaguars and panthers.
Namibia’s environment ministry previously told Namibian Sun that it received a request a few years ago from the Indian government to relocate African cheetahs to India, but that it was rejected by Namibia.
The ministry at that time said Namibia is not considering relocating cheetahs to India, nor have there been any further discussions between the two governments about this issue.
Meanwhile, Dr Laurie Marker, executive director of the CCF, in a recent blog post said that reintroducing cheetahs in India will help relieve pressure on the species by creating additional habitat, which the cheetah desperately needs to survive. It will also help increase the species genetic diversity.
“Yes, the cheetah reintroduction project will be a massive undertaking, very complex, and it will require great financial resources. But it is one very much worth the attempt, because the payoff is so enormous.”
ELLANIE SMIT
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